


Those Old Days

by Ms_Julius



Series: SINF-week 3 [1]
Category: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott
Genre: F/M, SINF Week, SINF Week 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 06:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13025502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ms_Julius/pseuds/Ms_Julius
Summary: In the days of old Paris, Nicholas finally manages to create his first diamond after studying the book of Abraham for years.





	Those Old Days

**Author's Note:**

> Part one of the SINF-week 3, the prompt being "Alchemist".  
> It's only a start of the SINF-week and I am already running late!

**_Paris, 1352_ **

It was shining so brightly on his palm. The flickering light of the candles danced around the sharp edges, and Nicholas simply couldn’t  tear his eyes from it.

The first diamond of his own doing. All the hard work, those silent, sleepless nights when he laid awake and wallowed in self-doubt while Perenelle slept peacefully by his side. Nicholas’ lips curved in a tender smile just like they always did when he was thinking about his loved one. Without her constant encouragement he would have given up a long time ago. Together they had decided to pursue the revealing the mysteries of the ancient, metal-covered book, and the alchemist was a man enough to admit that had he been put into this position alone, the forgotten knowledge of the texts would have remained so.

It had taken him far too many years to unlock this one particular secret of the Codex, and now when the proof of his efforts rested at his trembling hand, he had troubles in believing what he had in fact just achieved. He had changed a dirty, dark coal into a shimmering diamond with his own two hands, and the process wasn’t difficult to repeat by any means. The smile of his face grew wider as his wild imagination flew ahead of him, picturing all the possibilities that the formula could offer them. An endless supply of gemstones! They would never starve again, and with that kind of money he could finally settle down, maybe open a modest book shop of his own...

Still grinning, Nicholas slipped the stone in his jacket’s inside pocket and pushed open the heavy wooden door which lead into the small lab space under their house. His hands shook as he climbed the stony staircase, his feet speeding up without him noticing. He stumbled couple of times, but luckily the momentum kept him upwards and he avoided falling back down head first along the roughly carved stairs. 

He peeked through a gap between their living room door and the frame. Perenelle was seated in front of a little, shabby dining table, her raven-black hair bound to a high ponytail which was long enough to reach her waist. She was wearing a cozy combination of elegant, coral-shaded dress and a pair of worn out leather shoes. Nicholas remembered buying those for her almost a decade ago, on his partner’s birthday. It warmed his heart to see her wearing them even after they had suffered quite decay in regards of appearance. 

“Are you going to come in or are just happy to admire me from afar?”

The slight tilt in Perenelle’s soft voice betrayed her amusement, and with a flourish bow her love stepped inside of the larger room and moved to stand beside her, next to the table.

Nicholas bend his knees a bit, coming to a face-level with the woman who was now eyeing him curiously. “Nicholas, what on earth are you doing? Get up, you’re getting your trousers dirty squatting there on the floor.” Her eyes shifted to his hands, both pressed firmly together to conceal something between them. “If that is another one of those unusually big spiders you found while poking around the attic, I’m going to make you eat it. I am glad you find them fascinating, god knows why, but I’m not too fond of them myself.”

A small chuckle emerged from Nicholas’ lips as he lifted his hand higher, grinning while slowly letting them slip open. 

“Not this time, mon cher. This is something far more rare, and definitely more beautiful.”

The look on Perenelle’s face as her gaze settled to the gleaming stone was all the confirmation Nicholas could ever want. He had succeeded.

Perenelle stood up quickly, her legs shaky as she smoothed one finger over the diamond, the awe on her eyes not fading when she turned to look at Nicholas, the other hand coming to caress his stubbly cheek. 

“You did it. You finally did it, Nicholas.” Tears fell freely, and the smile still playing around alchemist’s chapped lips extended to her’s as well. “After all this time, you manage to surprise me, my dear. I am so proud of you!”

A pride swelled up in Nicholas’ chest. He had made Perenelle proud. His eyes squeezed shut as he leaned forward to press his forehead against Perenelle’s, his tears starting to mix up with hers. 

Deep down, making her proud was all he had hoped to accomplish. 

Taking a calming breath, he gently wrapped his trembling arm around Perenelle’s lean figure, clasping the gem tightly in his fist as he buried his face in her neck. “It took me some many year, Perry. I didn’t think I would be able to see it through.” One hand rose to wipe away his flowing teardrops. Green eyes drilled down into his pale one’s, a pair of smooth lips closing around his.

“I always knew you would succeed. Didn’t doubt it one moment.”

His breath catching, Nicholas took another shuddering gasp of air before pushing Perenelle an arm’s length away and taking a step back himself. Once again, purposefully leisurely this time, he landed on one knee. Hands rising slowly, he presented the diamond, dipping his head with formality.

“Perenelle, I did not have much to offer for you before. No wealth, no fame, merely a roof over your head and my deepest love.” He raised his head, staring into her widened eyes with resolve. “But now I do. I can offer you anything your heart might desire. Now I can finally see myself asking you something that has been in my mind for longer than I care to remember.” He held the stone high, handing it over and dropping it in Perenelle’s quavering fingers. 

“Would you marry me, Perry?”

A restrained sniffle was all the answer it got before the woman swung herself into his arms, almost pushing them both over as she let the diamond fell onto the floor. Her emerald gaze was spotted with unshed tears, but the growing smirk on her face proved how much she had waited for this question in past year of their life.

“As if you even needed to ask, mon amour.”

* * *

**_San Francisco, 2006_ **

“Did you ever believe we would end up here?”

Perenelle turned around, locking her gaze with her husband’s troubled one. “Here? You mean in America?”

Beside her, leaning over the railing framing the running river below, Nicholas shook his head. “No. In this time, this age. The future. Did you ever believe we would be seeing things like this?” 

Behind them a motorcycle accelerated and dusted the air with crumbs of macadam and dirt. Flying in the sky, a jumbo jet slowed it’s massive speed as it prepared to land at the nearby airport. 

Perenelle curled her long fingers around the steel railing as well, staring absent-mindedly into the whirling water. “No, I did not. But it is a nice time to be alive.” Her eyes came to rest on a ring sparkling in her left hand’s third finger. The stone molded into a golden ring was shining brightly in the evening sun, the glamour of it still remaining after centuries. And the memories tied to it were as sharp as they had been in the moment when they were made. 

“I am glad you said yes.”

Startled, Perenelle lifted her eyes and found her alchemist’s gaze also fixed to the glimmering jewel. Taking a step closer to the love of her life, she leaned her head against the tense shoulder, which loosened up at the second she settled part of her weight on it. The ringed hand found it’s way to it’s companion, grasping tightly around the slender, potion-tainted fingers.

“So am I.”


End file.
